Excavating apparatus



5, 1952 B. o. ACKER, JR 2,606,013

EXCAVATING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 2, 1949 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. A8190c: 0. flcmsy, we.

FTT'OKIVEYS Aug. 5, 1952 B. o. ACKER, JR

'EXCAVATING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2, 1949 IN V EN TOR.Eel/CE 0. flCXfie, 1/4.

HTTOR/VEYS /M lA J B. O. ACKER, JR

EXCAVATING APPARATUS Aug. 5, 1952 Filed Nov. .2, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

I ll I H Bkuc: 0. 4c

- paratus:

Patented Aug. 5, 1952 UNITED STA'T.ES' AT NT-"i l v 1 asoaoie I I:VEXGAVATING APPARATUS Bias-e; Acker, JrQ, Bessemer; Ala;

Application November This invention relates to earth excavatingmachinery, and particularly to a machine adapt.- ed-for mining ore andcoal, and has for an object the provision of; apparatus of the characterdesignated which. shall be simple and sturdy of design; reliable andflexible in operation, and one which shall be capableoi breaking downrelatively hard, dense formations which have heretofore requiredexplosives to break '3 Claims. (c 1. 262-13) end of theapparatus-showing theg trough with improved means for .manipulating thedipper and to remove the material as it is excavated. v

' Amore specific object of-myinventionis to provide excavating apparatuswhich shall include a' dipper" carrying vibratory, percussive typedrills on its under side, projecting forwardly from its engaging edgeand in'i which said dipper shall be pivotally mounted on a conveyertrough to deliver excavatedmaterial thereinto,

and in which the trough is pivotally mounted "f. at its opposite end tomove angularly in all di- ,rections.

Briefly my invention comprises a self propelled vehicle having astationary outer ring mounted at the front thereof to standvertically'and transversely of the vehicle. An inner ring is mounted torotate within the outer ring, and a trough is pivotally mounted withinthe inner ring to extend forwardly of the vehicle and to swinghorizontally and verticallyyzith respect thereto. A dipper is hingedlymounted on the forward end of the trough and has mounted thereon aplurality of vibratory percussivecutting tools, such-as the well knownjack hammersextending forwardly from the engaging lip thereof. Thesetools engage :the working. face of the material being excavated andcause it to fall in the trough. The vibration of the tools causes thetrough to vibrate and convey the material "rearwardly thereof. Aconveyor is mounted at the rear-of the trough to receive the materialand convey it rearwardly of the vehicle.

Other" important features of my invention include the manner in whichthe rings are mounted R away showing my improved apparatus;

Fig 2 is a front elevation ofthe rings and yoke in which the trough ismounted with the trough removed; V

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the front of the ap- Fig. 4 is a sideelevational view of the forward line VV of Fig.6;

2, 1949, Serial No. 125,01 i

dipper in an invertedposition; p-

taken Fig. 5 is a sectionahplan vie Fig. 6 is a sectional view akenalong the 'line VI-VI of Fi '5: I Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram; I 1

Fig. 8 is a piping diagramior cylinders; and a r Fig. 9 is a pipingdiagram for the pneumatically operated jack hammers.

Referring now to the drawings fora better understanding of myinvention,I show, a track laying vehicle having' the well knownfCater-r pillartreads i8 and ll mountedonyforward wheels 12 and rear wheels L3 anddriverrby; individual reversible motors M- and; l 6 See;Fig.;=7. Thepower circuitv for the: motors is indicated at I! in Fig. '7. Thevehicle is-provided'with longitudinal frame members ISand l9 andasuitable number oftransverseframe members 2L;

the hydraulic Mounted on the forward-end of :the. frame ring 22 is heldagainst movement-relativeito the frameby attachment to the forward endof the frame members just described and byi-Jateral braces 23 and 24 anda. top brace 26 which i. ex,- tend rearwardly. The braces 23; vZtand2=6xare joined to a U-shaped m'emberjfl, which-is in'turn connected bydownwardly extending braces: 28 and 29 to the sideyframemembers.:-The,outer stationary ring 22 is provided on its inner;: surfacewithdouble beveled bearing seats 31 and-'32. Mounted to rotate within theouter ring 22:,is an inner ring 33, having double beveled bearingsurfaces 34 and 35'which are similar and opposed to the bearing surfaces3| and .32." Interposed between the two rings 22 and 33 aredoubl'econical bearings 37*- which-' 'ar'e' mounted on through spindles 38 andhem menemy-means ofnuts 39. The ring 33 'isprov-ided with a'rearwardextension 4! having sprocket teeth- 42 formed thereon. Thering-Sd'may berotated'with respect to the outer ring ZZ by means of a'reversible motordriving a sprocketcl'rain which passes around the sprocket teeth 42. Asshown inFig. '7, the motor 48 derives its power from "the circuit ll. r

Mounted within the inner ring 33 is a yoke 4.

The yoke 44 is vertically pivoted to the inner '33 by means ofanupper'pivotpin'flt and fa'lowe'r pivot pin 41. The pivot pin 46 isheld inlpla'ce by means of a stud 48 which passes u'pwairdly 50 having abottom 54 and sides 56 and-f5]. .At

the rear of the trough-0n the underside of-the bottom 54 are bracketsand 58 through which the piston rod 89 of a'hydraulic cylinder 9 I.

f" I "f 2,606,013

the rear of the trough. It will be noted that the its ends mounted inthe falls to the bottom of the excavation, such as material cut orbroken down" while the dipper is in v the operating position shown inFig. 3, the mapin 59 is located considerably below the centerof the yoke44 and inner ring 33 wherebyfwhe'n' the trough is in its normal positionas shown in Fig. 6 the rear end is considerably lower'than" when in aninverted positionas shown; in Fig 4.

terial is scooped up by the dipper and the dipper "is thenraised asdescribed above.

Mounted at the rear of the trough in position 'to' receive materialtherefrom is a belt conveyer Mounted on the underside of the bottom540i. v

the trough is a bracket 8| to which is pivotally connected the pistonrod 62 of a hydraulic cylinder 83. The opposite end of the hydrauliccylinder i3is pivotally connected-at84 to an arm Iiiformihg apart of thebracket By means of the hydraulic cylinder 83, the trough may be movedangularly with respect to its "pivot 59. Connected to the sides 56 and5Iof the trough respectively, near the bottom,are brackets SI and '68.Pivotally connected to the bracket SIisthe piston rod 69 of a hydrauliccylinder II. The opposite end of the cylinder II is connected to theinner rotary ring 33 by a ball and socket joint I2 and I3. Connected tothe bracket -I58 is the piston rod I4 of a hydraulic cylinder'lfi, which"cylinder is connected to the inner rotary ring 33 "84. The sides 8| and82, as may be seen in Figs. 5 and 6, overlap the sides 58 and 51 of thetrough 58. The dipper'ispivoted to the'bot'tom 54 of the trough by apiano hinge connection in which a pin 86 passes through the hinge.'Pivotally connected to the side 8| of the dipper is the -piston'rod 81of a hydraulic cylinder 88 and pivotally connectedto the side 82 of thedipper'is The opposite ends of the cylinders and 9| are pivotally'connected to the sides5I and 58 of the trough.

" Mounted on the underside of the bottom 83 of thedipper and securedthereto by any suitable means are a plurality of jack hammers, such asare. well known in the art,'and which are usually employed singly andmanually for cutting pavements, cutting down ore and coal in mines, andin other-excavating and breaking operations. No detailed descriptionofthes'e' jack hammers is given;

It is well known in the art that they include a, rapidly reciprocatinghammer element which acts upon suitable drills, or drill bits 91 to.force them into the work. As shown in the drawing, the drill bits 91extend outwardly from (the material engaging lip 84 of the dipper sothat -material cut or broken down by the drill bits can cut or brokendown while the trough slopes forwardly at an angle greater than theangle at which the vibrating conveyer will operate, the trough is raisedby means of the hydraulic cylinder 63 until the trough slopes in'thedesired position. also, to remove the material which I 88 whichissupported from the side members of the vehicle frame by means ofuprights I 8| and conveyer frame members I82, only one 01' which isshown. Sprockets I83 and I84 are provided at the outer and'i'nner ends,respectively,

of the conveyer over which the conveyor belt runs. The conveyer may bedriven by means'of a motor I86 mounted on the frame of the vehicle. Theconveyer I88 delivers the material from the apparatus to any suitableplace such as into a truck I81.

Referring to Fig. 8, the hydraulic system is illustrated. At I88 isshown a liquid reservoir from which the liquid is pumped by a positivedisplacement pump I89 which delivers the liquid under pressure throughconduitsjII8, III,' H2 and II 3 to four-way valves H4, H6 and H8respectively for'operating the hydraulic cylinders heretofore described.Liquid under pressure flows from the valve II4 to the outer end of thecylinder 16 through a conduit H9 and simultaneously to the inner end ofthe cylinder II through a conduit I2 I. Fluid from the outer end of thecylinder II is returned to the valve II4 through a conduit I22 and fromthe inner end of the cylinder I8 through a conduit I23 which joins theconduit I22 and thence through the valve I I4 through the conduit I I5and to the reservoir as already described. It will be understood that inthe other position of the valve II4, fluid under pressure is suppliedthroughthe conduits I22 and I23v to the inner end of the cylinder. IIand the outer end of the cylinder I6, respectively, in which instance,the fluid isreturned from the cylinder II and I6 through the conduitsI2I and I I9 to the valve II 4 and thence to the conduit I I5.

Fluid under pressure from the valve I I6 is supplied to the inner end ofthe-cylinder 83 through a conduit I28 and at the same time is returnedto the reservoir I88 by means of a conduit 128a connected to the outerend of the cylinder and the valve II 6 and a return conduit I28b whichis connected to a common return conduit I 24.

Fluid under pressure, as already described, passes to the valve II8through the conduit H3 and from said valve passes simultaneously to theinner ends of the cylinders 88 and 9| through a conduit I26 and isreturned to the reservoir I88 through a conduit I2I connected to theouter ends of the cylinders 88 and 9| and to the valve II8 from which itfiowsinto the return conduit I24. Inasmuch as the cylinders 88 and 9|are connected to the sides of the dipper 88, the two cylinders act andmove in unison.

In Fig. 9 the air supply conduit I28 leading to the jack hammers 92, 93,94 and 98 is indicated diagrammatically. Air for the operation of saidhammers is supplied through valve I29 in a manner ,well understood.

From the foregoing description the operation of my improved excavatingapparatus will .be readily understood. In the several views,particularly Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the apparatus is illustrated as it wouldpreferably be employed in mining ore or coal. The vehicle, beingselfpropelled by means of the motors I4 and I 8, is positioned beforethe face 01' the material to be excavated which is engaged by the dipper88 and by the projecting drill bits 91. When breaking down material, thedipper 80 and trough 50 may be operated in a normal position, that is,with the open side of the trough upwards, in which case the materialbroken down by the jack hammers and drills will fall directly into thetrough and be conveyed rearwardly by vibration of the trough. Ifnecessary, the trough 50 may be raised so that its outer end is abovethe level of the inner end in order to hasten the movement of therearward movement of the material. If required to break down materialover a wide arc, the trough 53 may be turned on its side as shown inFig. 3 of the drawing, whereupon an arc may be out which is somewhatwider than the vehicle. In event a large rock is broken down or falls.down, as shown in Fig. 4, the position of the trough Ell may be whollyinverted, by rotating the inner ring 33 as previously described andbringing the jack hammers and drills to bear downwardly on the rock. Thebreaking action of the drills is greatly aided by the weight of thedipper and the trough. After the material is broken to the required sizefor loading, it may be loaded by turning the dipper to the positionshown in Fig. l and manipulating it by means of the hydraulic cylindersas heretofore described. The feature of having the horizontal pivot ofthe trough 50 below the center of the ring 33 also aids in the breakingaction just described in that it raises the inner end of the trough 50to its highest point. It is further of advantage in that it lowers theinner end of the trough 59 when in its normal position and therebygreatly aids in conveying the material which has been broken down.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modifications, without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall beplaced thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In excavating apparatus including a dipper with longitudinallyreciprocating percussive cutting tools mounted thereon and projecting inadvance of the engaging lip of the dipper, a vehicle, a trough at oneend of which the dipper is hingedly mounted to discharge materialthereinto, a yoke mounted at the forward end of the vehicle in which thetrough is pivotally mounted at its opposite end, a rotary member inwhich the yoke is pivotally mounted transversely of the mounting of thetrough, means to rotate said member in a substantially vertical plane,and means to move said trough and said yoke angularly of their pivotalmountings.

2. In excavating apparatus including a dipper with longitudinallyreciprocating percussive cutting tools mounted thereon and projecting inadvance of the engaging lip of the dipper, a vehicle, a trough at oneend of which the dipper is hingedly mounted to discharge materialthereinto, a yoke mounted at the forward end of the vehicl in which thetrough is pivotally mounted at its opposite end, a rotary member inwhich the yoke is pivotally mounted transversely of the mounting of thetrough, means to rotate said member in a substantially vertical plane,means to move said trough and said yoke angularly of their pivotalmountings, and means to vary the position of said dipper angularly withrespect to the trough.

3. In excavating apparatus including a dipper with longitudinallyreciprocating percussive cutting tools mounted thereon and projecting inadvance of the engaging lip of the dipper, a vehicle, a trough at oneend of which the dipper is hingedly mounted to discharge materialthereinto, a yoke mounted at the forward end of the vehicle in which thetrough is pivotally mounted at its opposite end, a rotary member inwhich the yoke is pivotally mounted, reversible means to rotate saidrotary member in a substantially vertical plane, and means to move saidtrough and said yoke angularly of their pivotal mountings.

4. In excavating apparatus including a dipper with longitudinallyreciprocating percussive cutting tools mounted thereon and projecting inadvance of the engaging lip f the dipper, a trough at one end of whichthe dipper is hingedly mounted to discharge material thereinto, aselfpropelled vehicle, a stationary ring fixedly mounted at the front ofthe vehicle and extending upwardly therefrom with the axis of the ringin a horizontal plane, a second ring mounted to rotate within thestationary ring, a yoke mounted to pivot about a vertical axis withinthe rotary ring, a horizontal pivotal mounting in the yoke for the otherend of the trough, means to move the trough angularly in the yoke, meansto move the yoke angularly with respect to the second ring and means torotate said second ring.

5. Apparatus. as defined in claim 4 in which the pivot for the trough islocated below the center of the rotary ring.

6. In excavating apparatus, a vehicle, a stationary outer ring mountedon the front of the vehicle to stand vertically and transverselythereof, double beveled bearing seats formed on the inner face of thering, an inner ring mounted to rotate within the outer ring and havingdouble beveled bearing seats on its outer surface, double conicalbearings between the rings, means to rotate the inner ring, a troughextending forwardly from the vehicle and having its rear end pivoted toswing horizontally and vertically within the inner ring, means to swingthe trough, a-dipper hingedly mounted on the outer end of the trough,means to vary the position of the dipper about its hinge point, and aplurality of' vibrating percussive cutting tools mounted on the dipperand projecting forwardly from the engaging edge thereof.

'7. Apparatus as defined in claim 6 in which the horizontal pivot of thetrough is below the center of the inner ring when the open side of thetrough is upwards.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 7 in which a conveyer is mounted on thevehicle at the rear of the trough in position to receive excavatedmaterial therefrom.

BRUCE O. ACKEl-t, J R.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES- PATENTS Number Name Date 1,067,375 Proctor July 15, 19131,516,633 Dillig Nov. 25, 1924 1,735,122 Mattinson et al. Nov. 12, 19292,228,445 De Velbiss Jan. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date239,867 Germany Feb, 3, 1911

